Date:
8.30.05
New York
Countdown to
New York Steel Band Panorama 2005
This was my
lucky day...
A Conference with
Clive Bradley, Pelham Goddard,
and Yohan Popwell
by Anton Estaniel,
Northern Illinois University
New York -
This was my lucky
day. On Friday the 26th of August, I was one of two guests
who sat in on an interview organized, hosted and moderated by
When Steel Talks
of three steel
pan luminaries: Clive Bradley, Pelham Goddard, and Yohan Popwell.
Pelham
Goddard and Clive Bradley came representing the very experienced and
established school of pan arranging while Yohan Popwell represented the
younger and up and coming generation of pan arrangers. The lack of pretense
on the part of the arrangers was very refreshing, especially coming from men who
have established themselves in terms of winning various Panorama
competitions, a competition now held in different parts of the world. Mr.
Bradley, Mr. Goddard, and Mr. Popwell were willing participants and offered
their insight and knowledge in a forthcoming way. It was a treat to hear
what these men had to say on anything and everything that had to do with the
steel pan. From what I can recall, I’m going to focus on the tidbits of
information offered by these arrangers that I found useful, especially for
anyone who is interested in playing pan and or running a steel pan ensemble.
|
Pelham Goddard, Yohan Popwell and
Clive Bradley at Basement Recordings |
As a non-Trinidadian I find it important to know as much about pan as
possible. Understanding the style conventions of steel band music is vital
to performing the music in a thoughtful and dynamic manner. Mr. Popwell
spoke of studying the music of the prominent arrangers to fully understand
the different styles that are produced during Panorama. He spoke
specifically of the different strum patterns that are trademarks, audible
clues that help a listener discern a band’s arranger.
The strumming in a
steel band, in my opinion, is the rhythmic thread that determines whether a
band is really “grooving” for a lack of a better word. Most often
non-Trinidadians who begin playing the instrument do so through reading
music. Trinidadians who play pan do so by learning the music by rote, that
is to say they learn by ear. Since Trinidadians grow up hearing these
rhythms they have an inherent advantage to playing them. Often times
newcomers who have no familiarity with the style of music for pan will have
difficulty with the syncopated nature of the strumming patterns. In fact
newcomers who read music will sometimes have difficulty in reading the
notated rhythms from the page. This can lead to a very straight and non
“grooving” interpretation of the strumming rhythms. One of the first things
I would teach a group of new players is how to play these strumming patterns
for certain elongated periods of time. I would first teach some of the core
rhythms by rote. Once the rhythms would be learned I would then move on to
having the rhythms read from sheet music. Hopefully the rote learning would
initiate a more relaxed playing of the strumming rhythms when being read
from the sheet music. The comfort and familiarity of these rhythms
determines how well a band is performing the music. The grooving quality of
the strumming section of a steel band was something I always acknowledged,
I’m glad to see that my assumption was strengthened by listening to these
arrangers speak of the importance of strumming, the “heartbeat” or “pulse”
of the band.
Speaking of rhythm let’s discuss the engine room. For anyone who has played
in the engine room I’ll say this: it can be one of the more perilous
sections of any steel band. It may seem that playing an assigned rhythm in a
repeated fashion is easy, but playing in the rhythm section presents its own
difficulties that differ from playing a pan. First of all there are planned
breaks within songs that are put in by pan arrangers. Engine room players
have a habit of playing through the breaks of a song by accident, their
beats spilling into prepared moments of silence.
This occurs because an
auxiliary player will focus on keeping in time with a steel band but will
fail at times to listen to the structure of the tune they are playing. The
player will get lost in the groove, thereby allowing him or her to “fall
into the hole.” Steel bands playing for Panorama offer a semi-inclusive
environment for people to play percussion. This allows the engine room to
swell to large numbers. With more people comes the problem of getting
everyone in sync. What is one to do with so many bodies in the engine room?
Other than the arranger there are other people who usually know the music
thoroughly, one of those people should be the drummer. From what I can
remember this sentiment was echoed by all three arrangers: Mr. Bradley, Mr.
Goddard, and Mr. Popwell, and if it wasn’t verbalized by all three than it
was most certainly agreed upon by a nod. The drummer has the advantage of
not playing any tonal melodic material. Good drummers will focus completely
on what’s going on within the form of the song they are playing while still
concentrating on keeping time. Good drummers are perceptive listeners. If
the drummer is knowledgeable of the music then he/she can cue the rest of
the engine room to their appointed drum breaks and stops, making the act of
keeping time less hazardous.
The last point I’d like to elaborate on is the importance of knowing how
each steel pan functions in a steel drum band. Clive Bradley and Yohan
Popwell mentioned that arranging music for a steel band rests upon the
abilities of its players and the strengths and weaknesses of each
instrument. For example an arranger and composer of steel band music has to
be aware that certain instruments have limitations. For example the middle
voice pans, (guitars, cellos, four pan, quadrophonics) are difficult to use
when carrying the melody. They don’t lend themselves to playing a melody
that tenors, double tenors, or even double seconds can play. Middle range
pans often times can get drowned out by the higher frequencies that the
soprano pans have. Middle range pans also have more barrels per instrument,
numbering from three to four barrels per instrument. Tenors are self
contained to one barrel.
More barrels equate to more required movement. The
melody that a tenor player whips through may cause physical discomfort when
played on a middle range drum. So a melody that sounds playable on a tenor
may not shine as brightly on a middle range pan. This doesn’t mean the
middle pans aren’t capable of playing melodic material; it’s just that the
music needs to be arranged appropriately. Speaking of arranging
appropriately, a good rule of thumb is avoiding music that is far beyond
their abilities. As pointed out by the arrangers, sensitivity to a band’s
abilities determines what will be written for the ensemble. There is no
point in playing music that is going to be impossible for a group. All of
the aforementioned information may seem obvious, but non-Trinidadians may
begin the instrument in total ignorance. The steel drum isn’t as well known
as the traditional instruments found in school curriculums. Old stereotypes
of the Caribbean are still common, and there hasn’t been that much academic
material written on the instrument. So it’s quite possible for someone to go
about playing the music of pan in a non Trinidadian way If you happen to be
a person who wants to utilize this instrument by creating a band (especially
for educational purposes) I say this: do your research. Don’t treat the
instrument as a novelty. The steel drum has a rich and evolving history, it
demands to be studied seriously. Having the opportunity to speak to Clive
Bradley, Pelham Goddard, and Yohan Popwell has afforded me knowledge that I
hope to carry onto whatever endeavor I choose in the future. I hope this
article has articulated some basic information about pan that can help
newcomers and experienced pan performers improve as pan players and as
musicians.
About the
author...
California-native
Anton Estaniel currently attends Northern Illinois University,
Illinois, USA and is finishing his Masters in Music. The visit
to When Steel Talks studios, and his observation of the arrangers'
conference, feeds directly into his thesis. Generally speaking, the
thesis subject focuses on the roles played by various cultural activities
and organizations, including the steelbands - within the fabric of the
community in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Click To See
Full Interview
Guest Book
©2005
A
WHEN STEEL TALKS
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